Dear friendsWe are in the midst of the week of Christian Unity, which we have sometimes celebrated as "Churches Together" in Knowle.We are at a point in time when the Church of England is trying to reach a point of unity regarding issues of human sexuality and relationships, following an extensive period of conversations called "Living in Love and Faith" which a number of people within the congregation took part in.The current position is that the General Synod of the Church of England has approved the use of prayers of love and faith which could be used within an act of worship to bless relationships between those of the same sex. For some people, this will be a progressive way forward and will be welcomed. For others, it will be contrary to their belief of what is appropriate both within relationships, and within the tradition of the church. For others, this will not be enough of a move, and a desire to be able to hold weddings for those of the same sex remains. You may hold a firm view on this, or you may not have considered how you feel the church should respond. I wonder if, when we consider an issue such as this, it's healthier to think of different positions that people hold, rather than which "side" you might be on. To consider positions suggests an openness to the other point of view, whereas to speak of "sides" suggests conflict, is even combative.Ultimately unity is something that is given by God in the expression of the one-ness of God in the Trinity, and is something we are called to by God in the way we express ourselves as the body of Christ. Unity doesn't mean we all have to think the same - that's uniformity. Unity doesn't mean we have to agree on everything, and there is something that is biblical in being able to disagree well. However we are also called not to hold long accounts with each other, to forgive as we have been forgiven, and so whilst we can and should be able to disagree well, we are also required to move on from those disagreements and not hold this against each other. We are also though called to speak out against injustice and not collude when people are being hurt, so I am greatly encouraged by the consistent messages of regret and sorrow about the ways in which people who are same sex attracted, or from the LGBQT community have been hurt by the church, regardless of the position that church may hold.So I pray for our national church, and for the ongoing navigation of these times, and I pray for the witness of our parish church here in Knowle to all of God's people.I also pray for each of us, whenever we find ourselves disagreeing, or confused by the response or behaviour of someone, or holding on to hurts from a previous relationship that perhaps needs to belong to yesterday.In this week of Christian unity, may you know before all other things, that you are called to be in unity with God, in relationship, through Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.I hope to see you at the weekend, as we continue to explore the revelation of who Jesus Christ is, at 8.30am for our traditional Holy Communion service, and at 10.30am for our Sung Eucharist, with Sunday Spirit for our young people. You're invited.With love in Christ, as everBecky
Dear friends<br>In my study, my small wooden nativity is now full of the characters of the Christmas story, the kings were added last week, and there they will remain until Sunday 28 January when we celebrate Candlemas, the presentation of Christ in the temple.The other Christmas decorations are down in my home - with a daughter with a January birthday it's all a bit much! But in church, the decorations will remain up also until 28th.It's tempting to think "Christmas is over, now on to the new year", and of course while Christmas-tide is indeed over, we are as a church in the season of Epiphany-tide. Each week our readings invite us to consider the ways in which Jesus is revealed - from his baptism in last week's Gospel, to the recognition that "you are the son of God", as is proclaimed by his first followers in this weeks reading. Next week we have the wedding at Cana when Jesus performs his first public miracle, and then on the last Sunday of the month, at the presentation in the temple, where he is recognised by the elder Simeon and Anna as the one who has come to give salvation to the world. These aren't readings in chronological order, but they take us on a journey of discovery and recognition of who Jesus is, until we get to "ordinary time" again ... which is only a short season before Lent begins!We may be quite shocked to see Easter eggs in the shops so soon after Christmas, but in some ways the shops have got a deep theological understanding that Easter was present even at Christmas - the wise men bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were predicting the future life, death and resurrection of Jesus.So, whilst we may think Christmas is over, it isn't really because the story continues. The revelation of Jesus' identity throughout Epiphany draws us back to his birth, and then Lent points us towards his death. We are constantly called, as those who follow Jesus, to reflect and consider on what this story means for our own story. We do this when we gather, and this week you're invited to come along at 8.30am for our tradition Holy Communion service, or 10.30am for Cafe church, our more informal, conversational gathering.You might also like to consider the words of this poem, by Howard Thurman. I used it at one of our Christmas services, and offer it to you during this season of looking back, and looking forward:When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home,When the shepherds are back with their flock, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken,To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among others, To make music in the heart. With every blessing, as everBecky
Dear Friends, Happy New Year! I hope you are well and enjoying 2024 so far. The start of a new year always feels strange to me as we try to find energy, excitement and a renewed sense of purpose during a dark, wet and cold me of year. Observing the natural world around us we see bare branches, exposed soil and a lack of movement where things would usually creep and crawl. Following the rhythm of the non-human world about us we should really spend the winter slowing down and res ng. It is a me to put our roots deeper into the soil rather than stretch into new places. A me when there might not be much visible fruit but instead the deep places of our being are nurtured. So if you, like me, feel like it is just too much to “get up and go” at this me of year, take this as permission to focus on less high energy things. Our Old Testament reading for this Sunday describes God creating day and night, light and dark and this rhythm and pa ern is described as good. No-one can run 24/7 non stop, 365 days of the year and you aren’t the except on. Instead we should celebrate the good things that come from the rhythms we find ourselves in. These resulting months can be wonderful for healing, for reflect on and for allowing God’s spirit to move in our inner beings. That being said, I know many people find the beginning of a new year to be extremely energising and hopeful. As was demonstrated by London’s fireworks display, the process of reflecting back on the year can help us to remember the good things we have witnessed and experienced and to look forward with anticipation on for more good things to come in the year ahead. For others, who have had a particularly hard year this may be a me to press the “reset button”. To turn over a new leaf, live differently or anticipate a better year this year than last. However you are feeling as we begin this year, my prayer is that you would do so with a sense of God’s presence in your life. Whether you are making resolutions, res ng or finding fresh hope, know that our loving God wants to walk beside you as you do. Our weekly rhythms return to normal this week with Warm Space Café, Friday Morning Prayer (breakfast included) and our usual 8:30 and 10:30 services on a Sunday. This week we will celebrate Epiphany with a spoken Holy Communion at 8:30 and Holy Communion with Hymns and Sunday Spirit at 10:30. You are so welcome at all of the above, we would love to see you and start this New Year together whether you have been to St Mar n’s 1,000 times before or never before you are really welcome. Blessings, Phil
Dear friendsI was so lucky to be able to attend the consecration of the new Bishop of Swindon, Neil Warwick, on Thursday. In many ways it was the Church of England at it's best, with pomp and ceremony, great hymns and a beautiful church building. There were moments of humour - their own version of what we might fondly call "St Martin's moments", where those distributing communion consumed all of the bread and wine that was left, without realising there were about 60 more people who had yet to receive. It was quite a relief to see that even Canterbury cathedral can make mistakes, and that only God is perfect! There were also moments of quiet and depth - the simple and beautiful singing of the Agnus Dei by a small but powerful choir; the intimacy of the moment when Neil was anointed with holy oil, which could only be seen by the few people in the first rows, but within the stillness of a cathedral full of people. There was even a strange moment when a random tourist turned up part way through the sermon and sat on a step directly behind the Archbishop of Canterbury ... soon swiftly moved on by a stern verger (the tourist that is, not the Archbishop!) I was thankful to be there, carrying greetings from us all at St Martin's.Worship can contain all of these moments, can't it. Those intentional aspects of ceremony, and choreography, the unintentional "moments" where things might not go according to plan, the stillness and depth, and perhaps the unexpected interactions that we just respond to. Primarily our worship is about God, singing and saying praises, listening to and dwelling in the word, reflecting on the way we live our lives, and seeking to be shaped and formed going forward; gathering as the Lord's people around the Lord's table, gathering to be nourished in order to be sent.You are invited to gather this weekend. On Saturday we gather as a community for the Christmas Bazaar - with my thanks in anticipation for everyone who works so hard to make an event like this happen. Do please come along between 10.15 and 2.15.It's Advent Sunday this week - the start of the new church year, and our weekly anticipation of Jesus Christ coming again. We gather at 8.30am for our traditional Holy Communion Sunday, at 10.30 for our Sung Eucharist, with Sunday Spirit for our young people, and at 4.00pm for Evening Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer tradition. Whilst none of these services may be as eventful as the consecration of a new Bishop at Canterbury cathedral, they will each have the same aim of offering a space for a connection with God, as we gather to worship Him. You're invited.With every blessingBecky
